Chapter 9-H

[Oh my,]
the surprisingly un-malevolent hologram that the computer had chosen to
represent itself said. It appeared to be a brown-haired woman with an
apron. [Your
heart is so warm…]

"AARRGH," 'Tim growled, suppressing the yelling, screaming
and death that having one's heart brutally wrenched about would usually
cause. One of the more annoying things about some types of holograms is
that they can reach right into you and start doing rather nasty things
to your innards. "Stop… it…"

The computer's image giggled, taking the opportunity to crush and squeeze
'Tim's heart a little more. [I
can't do that, silly! You're messing up my nice clean floor with all that
bleeding! I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid that you must DIE
now.] It emphasized the word "die" with a violent
twisting motion.

"Ukkyo…" 'Tim choked out. "Anytime now…"

The chef slashed the combat droid she was fighting in half, then dove
spatula-first at the hologram… and went right through it.

"Tee-hee, that tickles!" the hologram said, smiling pleasantly.

Ukkyo, having anticipated a solid target, followed through with the stroke
and ended up imbedding her massive spatula deeply into the wall.

*ZZZZZZZZZT!* "Ullllllghghghghghhhh!" she shouted
involuntarily as a tremendous electrical shock wracked her body, throwing
her against the opposite wall. "A…aaaow," she said, grimacing
and holding her arm in pain.

Sparks flew from the spatula in the wall, and the deadly hologram vanished.

'Tim collapsed as the force on his heart dissipated. He glanced up at
Ukkyo. "That," he said, "was a great move. An inch or two
in either direction, and you'd have completely missed the power junction.
Any shallower or deeper, and it wouldn't have shorted out the holographic
generators, either."

Ukkyo blinked, rubbing her arm as the pain dissipated. "Um… thanks?"
She looked over the heavily injured, pink-haired man. "Are you all
right?"

Regaining his footing, 'Tim coughed slightly, holding his chest. "Not
by any stretch of the imagination…" He took a hoarse breath. "But,
that doesn't matter right now. We have just under thirty seconds before
the generator repairs itself." He walked over and, with some effort,
wrenched Ukkyo's spatula from the wall. "Mind if I borrow this for
a sec?"

Ukkyo shrugged in bemusement. "S-sure… I guess."

"Thanks."

*Shing*Shing*Shing*Shing!* 'Tim made four long, deep cuts into
the wall.

*Clang* The six by three by one foot section of wall fell outwards
onto the deck.

"Hmm… That's odd," the green-clad man commented as he looked
into the hole he just created.

"What?"

"No droids…" 'Tim shrugged. "No matter, though."
He returned Ukkyo's weapon and stepped through the hole.

[Oh my…
what are you doing, 'Tim?] the computer asked, its voice echoing
through the corridors. [No,
'Tim… Stop… Please…]

"What are you doing?" Ukkyo called to her boss.

He didn't respond.

[No…
Oh… my mind is going, 'Tim… My mind is going… Oh, would you like
me to sing a song?]

"All right, computer, let's hear you sing a song," 'Tim said
darkly, his voice accompanied by a sharp clicking noise. "Something
with a bit of… bounce to it."

There was a brief musical intro, and the computer began singing. [o/Fly
me to the Moon—]

*BLAM* BLAM* BLAM* BLAM* BLAM* BLAM* BLAM* CLICK* CLICK* CLICK!*

The music ground to a halt.

'Tim slowly exited through the hole in the wall, carrying a smoking handgun.
"I really hate that song, you know…" he said in a calm, matter-of-fact
fashion.

The pink-haired man nodded with a grin, blowing the smoke off the barrel,
then quickly twirling the gun around on his index finger and putting it
away. "Oh yeah, baby."

Ukkyo frowned and took a step back. "Are… we done, then?"

'Tim shook his head and chuckled. "I'm afraid not. We've got those
nukes to set up, remember? Follow me." He started walking down the
hall. Ukkyo hesitantly followed. "I love maintenance."

A minute of travel through the cavernous halls of the former intergalactic
installation brought them to a rather large, ominous door made of rusty,
red steel. It also had a somewhat frightening carving of a skull and crossbones
on it.

"Hmm, haven't opened this door in a LONG old time…" 'Tim
muttered as he put his hand to the panel on the wall by the door. "Funny…
This is the only door in this place that's never really repaired itself…"

The door rattled for a second, rose a foot off the deck, and vibrated
violently as it tried to open further.

*CLANG!!!* The door fell back into place as the motors and magnetics
around it broke down.

'Tim sighed. "Terrific… This might take a little longer than I
expected…" He looked at the metal around the door, then glanced
back at Ukkyo, and stopped when he looked at her spatula. "Ukkyo,
your weapon seems to be able to get through metal rather effectively.
This is a big door, but… Care to have a go at it?"

"…Okay," the brown-haired cook replied, shaking herself out
of the sheer awe that was inspired by her surroundings. She started to
examine the door for a good cutting location.

"Cheap piece of scrap," 'Tim continued annoyedly, "Shouldn't
have contracted out with those transdimensional midgets to get it made…
Only a million year certification." He thought about it. "Still,
it was funny to see how they reacted when they found out who they were
working for. Heh heh heh…"

Ukkyo looked at the pink-haired man. "Er… What are you talking
about?"

'Tim shrugged. "Eh, nothing, really. I just have the tendency to
talk to myself and over-explain every little detail. A REALLY old habit
that I've never quite been able to get rid of. But… I like it! Gives
me character, don'tcha think?"

Ukkyo blinked. "I… guess." She looked back at the door and
spotted the perfect place to begin cutting. As a precaution to make sure
that her boss didn't suspect any more than necessary about her possible
origin through her capabilities, she turned back to 'Tim and pointed behind
him. "Look, a three-headed monkey!"

'Tim turned around. "Where?!"

*SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!* A masterful leap and slash made a long,
diagonal gash through the door.

*Fluuup*CLANG*CLANG*Fluup*CLANG!* The bottom part of the door
fell over, allowing the top part to fall, and flip on top of the other
three-foot-thick piece of rusted metal.

'Tim turned toward his employee. "I don't see anything…"

At that moment, a red-faced, purple-furred, three-headed monkey jumped
out from a ventilation shaft to land right behind him. It smiled and waved.
"Oook! Oook! Oook!"

Ukkyo blinked and frowned. "It's… right behind you."

'Tim glanced back, but the monkey jumped back into the shaft a split
second before he could see it. "Nothing there. Are you sure? I mean,
three-headed monkeys are kinda rare…"

Ukkyo opened her mouth to say something, then decided against it. "I
must have been mistaken."

'Tim shrugged. "Oh. Okay. I see you got the door, though. Wait here."
He climbed over the ominous wreckage of the mysterious door and entered
the unnecessarily mysterious room.

"Well, he didn't say anything, so he probably doesn't suspect anything,"
Ukkyo subvocalized, feeling a need to do more than just think about it.
"And… I can somewhat see the allure of talking to one's self…
It does help one relax."

*ROAAAAR!* There was a loud growl from inside of the other room.

"Oh, Hello, Kitty."

*ROAAAR!!*

*Thwipp-PSSSH!* "DOWN, KITTY!!!"

*ROAAAAAAR!!!*

*Thwipp-PSSSH!*

*Meow…*

"Ah, that's better. Just stay right there while I turn around and
pick up the thermonuclear—"

*ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!!!*

*Crackle-snap-crackle* "Yeeeowch! The back… Why is it ALWAYS
with the back?!" *CRUNCH* "Oookay… four down, twenty
to go. You can do better than that! Gimme a break!" *KERRUNCH*
"Better, better… I do believe you got one of my lungs that time…
Speaking is becoming difficult…"

*ROAAAAR!*

Ukkyo winced as she heard the sounds of carnage rage on. "Do you
need any help?" she called in concern.

"Naah! Almost done here!" *SNAP* "Ooooh… you
just wait till it grows back!"

*ROOAAAARRR!*SQUELCH!*

"Ow… KITTY NO BAKA!!!"

*WHAM!*CLANG!*Thud*

The sounds of fighting ceased.

'Tim walked out of the mysterious room, carrying a Very Large Mallet
over his left shoulder and a backpack on his right, looking all the worse
for wear from his fight. He was missing the lower half of his right arm,
and had claw marks on his face and chest, where his clothes were rather
shredded.

Oddly enough, he was still grinning in his usual, mildly psychotic way.
"Ha! Blunt trauma. Gets 'em every time."

With a flick of his wrist, the mallet vanished. The so-termed ‘mild-mannered
restaurant owner’ shrugged his backpack into a more comfortable position.

Ukkyo gasped, wide-eyed. "Are you all right?!"

'Tim coughed up some blood, and glanced at the cauterized stump where
his arm was supposed to be. "That," he said, "has to be
the most idiotic question I've heard all day." His eyes rolled back
into his skull as he started to collapse.

Ukkyo rushed to his side, holding him up. "We have to get you to
a healer… a doctor… or something!"

'Tim coughed, gritting his teeth as forced strength into his unresponsive
limbs. "Doctor nothing… What I need is a good ol' jolt of mass
destruction." He started to slide down in Ukkyo's hold.

Ukkyo sighed helplessly. "You need serious help!"

"Darn straightly," 'Tim replied dazedly, "and the Finns
made new ways to survuhuhuhvive in the cold weather, and then has fourscore
and seven years ago… Heh. And then I got the chivalVary and toook Abraham
finkleton acCorse the… Washingtonminumshumishum machine penninsula…"
His eyes fell closed.

The insane mumbling ended as his breathing slowed, and finally stopped.

Ukkyo felt a sense of foreboding. She shook her boss slightly. "…’Tim-san?"

A hand grabbed her shoulder and 'Tim drew in a deep, gasping breath.
"And THAT's what they get fer messin' with a pro!" He shook
his head violently in an attempt to clear it. "Okay, what's the deal
here? Ah! I understand… Too much pain to truly ignore… The pain receptors
are overloaded, and it's hard to feel… Yeah… That's the ticket…
but we can easily fix that, can't we?" He reached into his pocket
and pulled out a small metal cylinder with an odd apparatus at the tip,
which he placed to his neck.

*HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff…" 'Tim muttered contentedly, quickly
draining the device. He put it away and attempted to stand and stay standing.
He succeeded, albeit wobbling slightly. "Much better. Come along,
Ukkyo, we've got to set these up." He indicated his backpack with
his remaining arm.

Ukkyo grimaced as she stole a glance at 'Tim's missing arm. "Really,
are you all right?"

"Ukkyo," 'Tim said with a sigh, "That's the third time
you've asked that. Now, look at this:" He indicated his ravaged arm.
"And then there's this:" He pointed at the scratch marks on
his face, chest, and underneath his backpack. "And these:" He
indicated the arrow and axe wounds on his back. "Now, really, what
does it look like?"

Ukkyo had turned away when her boss started pointing out the more painful-looking
wounds. "I don't—"

Heedless of the chef's reaction, 'Tim continued. "I'm doing just
fine! I spent all of last night getting torn apart by an assorted group
including, but not limited to: Raditz, Sabertooth, Apocalypse, Zelgadis,
Lina Inverse, and some red robot with this really big hairstyle called
Zero. Now, I'm a relatively fast learner when it comes to things like
this, so as of this morning, I have been able to take quite a beating
before I conk out. And enjoy every moment of it, too. Cool, huh?"

Ukkyo coughed nervously as she turned back to face the pink-haired man.
<This guy is a complete wacko!> "You wouldn't happen
to be related to a certain… Starlight Knight, would you?"

'Tim blinked. "What?"

The chef inwardly chided herself for the slip-up. "Er… nothing!"

'Tim paused, taking a moment to look over his employee a little closer.
"And… You wouldn't happen to be related to a certain… razor-sharp
spatula-wielding, taunt-throwing, wound-giving youma, would you?"

Ukkyo closed her eyes and almost sobbed in sadness. "No… This
doesn't mean we have to start fighting, does it?"

'Tim began to respond, but his voice was drowned out by the sudden blaring
of klaxons throughout the base. He spoke up, a bit louder. "Oh, bugger…
The computer's managed to reset itself. Now we're both going to die. Isn't
that just lovely?" He sat down against a wall, beginning to count
the dots on the ceiling.

Ukkyo glared at her boss. "You're going to give up, just like that?!"

'Tim nodded. "Yup. We missed the window for getting the nukes into
the computer core. Since the computer has, most likely, upgraded all the
inner defenses, considering that we've proven to be quite a threat, we
won't stand a chance." He pointed at the floor, which had begun to
sprout several small, green, spider-like… things with great, big, nasty
teeth. "But mainly because of those."

Ukkyo glanced around at the approaching swarm. "What are they?"

"Biological droids that, once they get a hold of you, drill into
you, looking for the nearest vital organ, and devour it to grow more of
themselves and such things. REALLY nasty stuff. Trust me on this one.
We'd be much better off killing ourselves." He thought about that
last part. "Yes, let's do that." He stood and pulled out a small,
silver cylinder, and pushed a button on it.

*BRZZH* A sword-like beam, nearly a meter long, formed at the
tip of the cylinder. *Vrr* The beam made a humming noise as it
moved. 'Tim moved into a combat stance, and leveled his weapon at Ukkyo.

Ukkyo looked at her boss, and back at the surprisingly slow-moving horde,
which seemed to be continually decreasing in speed. "What are you
doing now!? We have to work together on this!"

'Tim narrowed his eyes and took an unsteady step closer, still not having
fully adapted to the anesthetic's effect on his central nervous system.
"Chicken. Bock bock bock bock-ack!"

Ukkyo just backed off, frowned and shook her head.

*Vrr* The pink-haired man swung the beam blade a few inches away
from the youma's face. His movements were awkward and seemed somewhat
untrained. He clearly wasn't left-handed. "Fleeing coward!"

Ukkyo gritted her teeth. "I am not a coward."

"Lying, cheating, stealing coward."

The chef whipped out her spatula and pointed it at 'Tim. "You. Take.
That. Back."

"Oh, hit a nerve, did I? Well, it's true. I wasn't the one who ran
out on our little battle yesterday. Nor was I the one that stole all that
energy from those people. And, I wasn't the one who decided to fake my
identity. You were."

"I had to!"

'Tim smirked, slashing at his opponent. *Vrr* "Oh, really?"

*KSSH!* Ukkyo blocked, a thin energy field shielding her spatula
from damage. "I'd have been killed otherwise!"

"Heh heh… Haven't you heard? Ever since the second World War,
obeying orders, even at the threat of death, isn't an excuse for crimes
against humanity!" 'Tim said with a chuckle. He glanced at the horde
of spider droids and nodded slightly. They were now at a snail's pace.
He turned back to his chosen opponent and made another relatively slow
swing. *Vrr*

'Tim sneered at her. *Vrr*Ksssssh*Crackle* Ukkyo's weapon met
his, and stayed there for a moment before she backed off. "You're
such a liar," the wounded, green-clothed man said. "You'd do,
kill, or drain anything to survive."

Ukkyo trembled slightly as she heard him speak. "I…"

'Tim smiled with narrowed eyes. "Hah! You're no better than a…"
He paused as he tried to think of the right sort of noun. "Worthless,
cowardly panda."

Ukkyo frowned and lowered her weapon. "It's… I…" she stuttered,
breathing harshly and irregularly. She took a step back and dropped her
spatula, then fell to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and
began sobbing.

'Tim noted that the small spiders around him had started to pick up speed.
He looked down at the crying youma on the floor, and lunged forward at
her, weapon ready.

*Vrr* Ukkyo, red-faced and eyes full of tears, looked up and saw
the energy sword pointed directly at her neck. She made no move to defend
herself.

"You," 'Tim growled, "picked a heck of a time to develop
a conscience." With that, he slashed down and sliced open Ukkyo's
shirt, and with a quick upward swing, cut open the white bandages underneath,
then made two quick cuts through each shoulder of the same piece of clothing.

Ukkyo gasped as she watched the bandages and shirt fall away, leaving
her top half completely uncovered. "Huh!?" She looked up and
glared at 'Tim. "You…" She wiped away her tears, snatched
up her spatula, stood, slapped 'Tim across the face with the back of her
hand, and fought with a renewed fierceness. "You are SO dead, I can't
believe it!"

*KSSH*BRRZZT*ZZZZT* 'Tim staggered back, a rather large, red handprint
across the right side of his face. He struggled to block and deflect the
new attacks. He was having a difficult time, but he managed to avoid taking
any more damage. "I honestly don't know what you're complaining about,"
he said in a perfect imitation of being calm. "I mean… it's not
like there's anything actually WORTH SEEING!!!"

Ukkyo looked at the pink-haired man, murder in her eyes. At this point,
she was far too flustered to make any counter-comments. Still, she didn't
seem to be having any difficulty fighting, despite her frustration, anger,
and bare chest.

*BZZT*Vrr*KSSH*Cracklecracklecrackle* A brief melee slammed 'Tim
against the wall. *SHING!* He ducked a slash, which cut open his
backpack, spilling out the eight small cylinders that were inside. He
dove away, kicking Ukkyo's feet out from under her as he did. "Flatchested
AND a klutz! What a combination!" He glanced at the spider droids,
which had started to pick up speed, then looked back at his opponent and
laughed snidely at her. "Tell me, how does yer girlfriend like ya
in bed?!"

Ukkyo coughed in shocked disbelief. "You… PERVERTED JERK!!!"
she shrieked in indignation as she stood and jumped up in preparation
for another strike: the one that would silence this… BAKA HENTAI once
and for all! "KIYAAAAAA!!!!"

[Ara…]
the computer said uneasily, its voice echoing through the hallways. Its
chosen holographic image appeared and stopped Ukkyo's dive and placed
her on the floor. It looked at the chef, then at 'Tim, a worried look
on its face.[Could you please… stop fighting?]

'Tim and Ukkyo dove at each other, weapons ready to hack the other apart.
The computer's image held them back, looking very surprised. [I
can't kill them properly if they won't stop fighting,]
it concluded internally.

"And I'll stop fighting," 'Tim said calmly, "when this
sorry excuse for a female gets off my back and lets me get those nukes
set up." He pointed at the cylinders that had fallen to the floor
during the fighting. "They have to be locked onto the main computer
core and all the backup systems, or I won't even THINK about stopping
this battle…" He looked back at the brown-haired chef. "Kawaiikunai
piece a'—"

Ukkyo screamed at anger, dropped her spatula, and lunged at 'Tim's throat,
only to be stopped by the computer again.

[Er,]
the computer's image said uneasily, [I
could replace your outfit, Ukkyo… And I could put the… nukes in place,
if you would like, 'Tim…]

"Yeah, do that," 'Tim replied.

"What about the apology!?" Ukkyo asked forcefully.

"I'll apologize," 'Tim said, looking at her haughtily, "when
the explosives are set up. Not before, you uncute—"

The cylinders on the floor vanished and an exact replica of Ukkyo's shirt
with an accompanying bandolier of throwing spatulas appeared on a levitating
hanger next to her.

The brown-haired young woman quickly examined the article of clothing
for any… surprises. Not finding any, she quickly slipped it on. She
looked at 'Tim, still with a fair amount of anger. "Good enough…
for now." The hanger vanished.

The computer looked at the pink-haired man. [Will
you apologize now?] it asked hopefully.

"Did you set them up? Are they locked into all the primary computer
systems?"

The computer's image nodded emphatically. [Yes,
yes. The entire system is rigged for maximum devastation, just as you
like it.]

"Excellent," 'Tim said. He looked at his employee. "Sorry
about that."

The chef's gaze indicated that he could do better than that.

"Terribly sorry about that."

Ukkyo narrowed her eyes. "AND…?"

'Tim sighed, put away his weapon, and got down on one knee, taking her
hand in his. He looked up into her eyes, a very apologetic expression
on his face. "Ukkyo… I have done some terrible things to you. I
have given you grave insults, calling you a liar, a coward, and much more
that I'm sure you would much rather not have repeated."

Ukkyo's expression softened slightly. "Go on."

"I would like you to know that I did not mean any of it. You have
shown considerable bravery and perseverance in your actions. You've never
lied to me: Everything I've asked you, you've answered truthfully. As
for other statements, you still haven't lied to me about anything. You
are not worthless in any way."

"And…?" Ukkyo prodded.

'Tim smiled. "I was just getting to that. I apologize for the damage
done to your clothes and self-image. You are a very lovely young woman;
cute at the very least. Your eyes, your hair… all about you is quite
beautiful… No, you are not, by any means, flatchested." He sighed.
"So, Ukkyo, chef and warrior of great skills, worth, and beauty…
can you find it within your heart to forgive me?"

Ukkyo blushed and smiled hesitantly. "I… guess."

'Tim nodded and stood.

[Now,
that wasn't so hard, was it?] the computer asked pleasantly.
The image vanished. [Kill
them!]

The spiders shrieked in unison and leapt at the two remaining people
in the area.

*BZZR!*KSSH*KSSH*KSSH* 'Tim ignited his weapon and began hacking
away at the attacking spiders, barely managing to keep them from latching
on to him. "DON'T let them touch you!"

*CLANG*WHACK*SLAM* Ukkyo was fighting in a similar fashion. "I
know, I know!"

*Vrr*KSSH!* "If you're wondering, THIS is why I was fighting
and insulting you! I had to get some real antagonism going to confuse
the computer: It seemed like it would react to something like that! I'm
glad to see it did."

*WHAM*WHACK* "Yikes… I think I understand you now!"
*WHAM* "Still, you didn't have to be so… personal!"

*KSSSH!* "I'm sorry," 'Tim replied seriously. *ZZZZZT*
"My first plan was designed to get your average youma angry; they
don't like having their combat abilities questioned!" *BZZZT*
"And they typically don't have a conscience to get in the way of
the better insults!" *KSSH* "And you, apparently, do.
I wasn't ready for that, so I had to go with my next best guess!"

*WHAM*WHAM*WHAM*SHING!* "And what was that?"

*KSSSH*CRACKLECRACKLECRACKLECRACKLE* "…I don't want to
discuss it right now! We have to detonate the explosives!" Currently
only having one arm available, 'Tim put away his weapon and pulled out
a small device with a large, obvious red button on it, and was about to
push it… when one of those spiders got through and snatched it out of
his hand, crushing the device sideways in its jaws. 'Tim barely managed
to shake it off before it was able to start digging in. "Well, there
goes that idea!"

*WHAM*CRASH*SHINGSHINGSHING*WHACK!* "You have a backup plan…
right?"

'Tim thought about it, kicking and backhanding away anything that got
too close. "…Yes! I do!" He took a deep breath, clenched his
fist, gritted his teeth, and narrowed his eyes in concentration. "Can
you hold them off for ten minutes? Maybe five?"

Ukkyo leapt over to him and started defending him. "I can certainly
try!"

"Good," 'Tim replied, beginning to gather a small ball of white
energy in his hand. He looked up at the ceiling. "Now, if the power
junction to the upspin section is there, then…"

*Shing*CLANG*Whack!*Shing*shing*SHING* Ukkyo was having quite
a time fending off the spiders.

Within a couple of minutes, the sphere of energy in 'Tim's hand had doubled
in size as he continued to look at the roof and walls. "Then it would
have to travel through the grid here…"

*WHAM*WHAM*WHAM*Shiiiiiiing!* The battle raged on for another
couple of minutes. "Are you almost ready for whatever it is you're
going to do?!"

'Tim confirmed the spot he was going to aim for, then looked down at
the very slowly-growing ball of energy in his hand, which shook trying
to hold it all. "Not at this rate…"

*WHAM* Ukkyo smacked away one of the much larger spiders. She
seemed to be tiring; her face was red and she was almost hyperventilating.
"If these things keep coming like they have… I won't be able to
last much longer…"

"What kind of youma are you, anyway?!" 'Tim asked. "Where's
the energy blasts and stuff you were doing last night?"

*CLANG!* "That's the thing! That needs energy: human
energy. I haven't drained any human energy since then. I just… can't
do it!"

"Youma die without energy!"

*Swish*WHAM* "I know…"

'Tim took a moment to absorb that. "Hmm…" Still charging
up, he watched Ukkyo fight. She was gradually getting more sluggish in
her movements. The fact that she was losing energy showed. Dents had started
to form in her combat spatula, the bugs kept getting closer to her after
each advance, and she was starting to look very spent. "Just
hang on for as long as you can!"

Ukkyo didn't respond, all of her concentration apparently going into
fending off the spiders.

"All righty, then…" 'Tim said quietly, devoting all of his
concentration into focusing more energy into the ever-so-painfully slowly
growing ball of white energy in his left hand. "This isn't going
to be enough…"

Ukkyo let out a strangled cry as one of the spiders finally got through
to her, knocking her to the floor from the force of its leap.

*CRRSZZH!* There was a sickening crunch from behind 'Tim. As his
legs gave out, he realized that the lower part of his spinal column had
just been severed as a spider droid started to eat its way through him.
He fell to the floor on his back. Somehow still managing to charge up,
he glanced at Ukkyo, who now was being swarmed upon. The bugs now seemed
to be ignoring him.

*ZRROW!* The spatula-wielding fighter blasted out of the swarm,
gasping for air as she did. "Hurry!" she shouted desperately.

"Eek…" 'Tim muttered. He glanced at the spot on the wall
he had designated as his target and made a couple calculations. He still
didn't have anywhere near the energy required for what he had planned.

Ukkyo was once again thrown to the floor, the bugs using their swarm
tactic to overpower and overwhelm her. She seemed to have lost almost
all her power to fight. All that remained to defend her was a rapidly
thinning blue shield.

Veins bulged on 'Tim's forehead and arm. His face became a mask of extreme
concentration. The energy ball quadrupled in size and turned blue during
the next second.

"GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!"

The spiders and bits of metal from the deck rose up into the air from
the sheer force of the power-up.

"GRRRRRRRRRR!!!"

Previously unseen muscles rippled in the pink-haired man's arm. A massive,
white-blue aura pulsed around him as the deck started to crack beneath
him.

"Graahh…"

The power-up stopped and the aura focused itself along his arm. During
the following silence, the metal and spiders crashed to the floor. 'Tim
chuckled evilly and brought his hand forward to aim at the wall. "Computer,
meet my latest attack: TOTAL SYSTEM-WIDE APOCALYPSE—"

"Ahhh!" A quiet cry came from within the writhing swarm a few
feet away, drawing 'Tim's attention. Ukkyo managed to dive halfway out,
covered in spiders, which had started their invasive process. She looked
at the one she had spent so much effort, energy, and life defending. "What…
are you waiting for? Do… it…" She slumped limply to the floor.

Ukkyo started to turn completely gray as her energy faded.

'Tim recognized the process that he had seen and caused in so many other
youma. He turned back toward the targeted wall, his arm fully extended
and crackling with energy. "—Revised! Life And Death Struggle!"

*ZZZZZZZROW!* He poured his collected energy into a massive, continuous,
blue beam, which flowed toward the wall.

'Tim gritted his teeth and made a chopping motion with his hand.

The beam split into two major energy flows. One black, one white. The
black one dove into the wall, sparks dancing along the metal surface as
it did.

*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!* The deck vibrated
slightly as the thermonuclear devices exploded in rapid succession.

[Oh my…]
the computer noted in concern as its holographic image appeared, flickering
badly. It also carried a large, double-bladed battleaxe. [Are
you sure we can't… all just be friends…?] It raised the
axe over 'Tim.

*CRASH!!!* The area shook as the final explosive in the main computer
core went off.

Midswing, the hologram vanished, leaving its axe to cleave into the floor
right by 'Tim's head. The spiders went limp and the lights winked out.

Illuminating the area, the white energy remaining from 'Tim's blast dove
at the rapidly disintegrating chef, flowing into her and surrounding her
with a blinding, spherical aura. She glowed, rising into the air as the
energy continued to infuse into her.

After a few moments of this, she was set lightly on her feet. The remnants
of the aura faded into her, leaving her completely healed, her clothes
perfectly repaired, albeit a lot more white than they had been, and her
brown hair had become neatly arranged.

The lights slowly flickered back on.

The cook took in a deep breath, smiled, opened her eyes, and gasped.
"TIM-SAN!"

"Unnh," 'Tim groaned, lying in a small pool of his own blood,
his eyes shut tightly.

Ukkyo rushed to kneel at his side, holding his hand in hers. "Are
you… Can I do anything…?"

The critically injured man slowly opened his eyes, and tried to look
around.

"Are you all right…?"

"Oh, MAN, what a rush," 'Tim grumbled. He took notice of the
hands that were holding his. "So… how ya feelin', kid?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ukkyo replied quickly. She paused, realizing
and considering what just happened. "You… just saved my life, didn't
you? Why… why would you do that for a youma? You fight and always kill
them."

'Tim blinked, glancing around blindly. "Hmm…? Oh, well… I don't
want to bore you with the details, but… suffice it to say that someone,
quite a while ago by your standards, who had no reason to trust
me and every reason to have me have me blown away took me in as her own,
despite what she knew I was. She even went so far as to hide my true nature
from everyone else. She protected me to the end, and overlooked all of
what she considered my flaws, and loved me all the same."

The chef looked very touched. "…And you'll do that for me?"

"Er… Well, kinda… Sure, I guess! I figure, hey, I mean, why
not?" the pink-haired man continued. "Besides, you can cook
stuff without spam in it! I can't just waste a good skill like that. It
simply wouldn't be proper!" He tried to sit up, but was thwarted
by the fact that he couldn't move the lower half of his body. "Urgh…"

Ukkyo frowned. "Are you going to be all right, Tim-san?"

'Tim tried chuckle, then coughed when he found he couldn't. "You
keep asking that—"

There was a beeping sound and a calm, almost monotone voice began speaking.
[Reset complete. Hello,
'Tim. I am ready to resume normal functioning at your command.]

"—and I will," 'Tim continued with half a smile. "Just
stop calling me 'Tim-san.' I hate how that sounds. Computer, activate
the EMH."

"Please state the nature of the… Oh, yech! What have you done
to yourself THIS time!?"

"WAAAAAH! Kunzite, Nephrite has a crystal that's going to help him
find the Empyrean Silver Crystal!" Zoicite whined, looking up at
her boyfriend with huge, tear-filled eyes. "Now he's going to get
absolute power and then have all of us killed!"

"Whining doesn't suit you, Zoicite," Kunzite replied comfortingly,
looking down into Zoicite's eyes and holding up her chin with his right
hand. "And don't worry. If he finds the Crystal, then we can simply…
take it from him!"

"But Kunzite," the blonde general sniffled, "Nephrite's
too strong for any of my youma!"

Kunzite smiled, gently stroking Zoicite's hair. "I think I can fix
that… I have been training a small group that will soon rival the Seven
Shadows in sheer power!"

Zoicite smiled hopefully. "You are? And… You’ll let me use them…?"

Kunzite slowly shook his head. "No… It will be a week at the very
least before they will be ready to fight anyone as powerful as Nephrite…
We, however, have more than enough power to…" He frowned. "But,
as muddled as our Queen may be, she is still very powerful and an open
battle between ourselves and her most favored general would not turn out
well for us…"

Zoicite sobbed pitifully. "Then… what can we do?"

The silver-haired general thought about it for a moment and finally smiled.
"I believe my… pet could be of invaluable use to you in this."

"Hmm," the redheaded woman hummed. "I wasn't aware that
there was a play in the works…" She paused. "Though I did
hear that the Performing Arts students were working on a rendition of
Pirates of Penzance… I wonder how that'll turn out…" She took
another quick glance around, then turned and left.

Sam sighed. "Okay, Al," he whispered, "what DO you know?"

"I know," Al began, looking at and thumping his badly-pummeled
link, "that there is precisely a… two percent chance that you're
going to meet our mysterious new friend, Mister Stanton, before the half
hour is up."

Dr. Beckett whistled. "Great odds, Al. Want to check up on Ziggy
to see if you can squeeze anything more definite out?"

The hologram shrugged. "Might as well, for all the good I'm doing
here. We haven't gotten anything all that useful from Molly yet, but she
seems to REALLY like this Stanton guy. So if… WHEN he pops up, you'd
probably want to kinda try to act nice around him. So, hang tight, Sam."
He pushed a button on the link. The familiar glowing gateway appeared,
and he stepped through, the gate closing behind him.

Sam buried his face in his hands and groaned. It was just one thing after
another: First, he leaped into a young girl— not an unheard of experience
for him, but was nonetheless disconcerting.

Second, there was school to deal with, which wasn't THAT bad, all things
considered… though it got quite uncomfortable with everyone asking,
several times each, what happened to his accent.

It was anybody's guess why they could tell that and not anything else
odd about him. Like, oh, say… why was there this big, hairy, middle-aged
man in a sailor-suit walking around and sitting in Molly's desk…

On the other hand, come to think of it, maybe just seeming to speak differently
than normal wasn't so bad after all…

Finally, there was this shadow looming outside the window and speaking
to him in a deep, quiet voice. "Molly…"

Sam instantly bolted upright. "Who is it?!"

The shadow became more distinct. "Molly… It's me. You know me
as Maxfield Stanton…"

If Dr. Beckett wasn't fully concentrating on the shadow before, he most
certainly was now. "Maxfield—"

"—Yes, but that isn't my real name," the shadow continued,
entering the room and resolving into the form of a tall, brown-haired
man in a sort of grey uniform. "My real name is Nephrite… You remember
from before, don't you…?" He sighed. "No, I see you don't.
I am Nephrite, and I work for an alien group called the Negaverse."
He paused, looking at "Molly." "Please, don't look so frightened,
Molly."

Sam decided to get right to the point and see if he could find out what
could be the cause of Maxf— Nephrite's death. There wasn't much time.
"Are… you in trouble, by any chance?"

"Yes, Molly. I need your help," Nephrite said in a slightly
worried voice and tone that would have many a girl jumping to give him
anything he asked for. "Please, you must tell me what you
know about a very special gem: The Ginzuishou." He paused. "And…
You need to tell me who Sailor Moon is… I think I may need her help
also."

Sam noted the manipulative tone and instantly decided that he didn't
like this guy one bit… but he still needed to help him, with whatever
was going on. "Nephrite, I want to help you, really I do… but I
don't have any idea who Sailor Moon is, or what the 'Ginzuishou'
looks like."

Nephrite almost managed to conceal his scowl at this. "I see…
then you won't help me."

Dr. Beckett sighed. "I didn't say that."

"Then… at least tell me who Sailor Moon is."

"I don't know who Sailor Moon is!"

Nephrite frowned and turned around to look out the window. "I could
be in grave danger, Molly…"

"There are… those from the Negaverse that wish to destroy me.
You see, it is a cruel world, full of evil and devoid of all joy and happiness.
They don't like me, Molly. I'm not truly evil, like they are."

Sam didn't know which was worse: the fact that he was being lied to or
the insulting way this Nephrite guy was doing it. He obviously didn't
think much of Molly's intelligence. "Well," Sam said, doing
his best to sound supportive, "I'd REALLY like to help, Nephrite,
but… what? What is it?"

Nephrite had turned back toward him and was smiling. "You finally
managed to pronounce my name right…" He chuckled, doing a fairly
good imitation of sounding kind and friendly. "Compliments to your
language instructor, too."

"Uh, thanks," the time traveler replied.

"So, Molly," Nephrite said, "I really am in trouble. If
you could help me find the Ginzuishou— or Empyrean Silver Crystal,
my troubles would be over. And… Then I would be able to join and help
Sailor Moon, IF you tell me where I can find her."

Sam held up his hands in confusion. "Who is Sailor Moon?"

Nephrite frowned. "So that's the way it's going to be, then?"
He sighed. "Very well. Goodbye, Molly." He turned around and
started to fade away.

"No, Nephrite! Wait!" Sam called urgently, but it was too late.
Nephrite was gone. "Great… Now what?"

Sam looked at his friend hopefully. "You finally got Ziggy working
and know what I should do?"

Al laughed. "Even better! I had a talk with Molly that's solved
all of the problems with my love life! It's unbelievable, Sam! She's a
great kid to talk to. Her friends she's got here are REALLY lucky to have
her."

Sam slapped his forehead and groaned, shaking his head. "Al… How
does that solve MY problem?!"

"I was just getting to that! Molly says that whenever she's having
trouble or doesn't know what to do, she always talks to her friend Serena.
She says that always helps."

"Hey, you never know, Sam. Ziggy did say she was going to be involved
with Maxfield Stanton's death…"

"She isn't the murderous type, Al. Besides, even if she was, what
good would talking to her do?"

"Isn't it obvious, Sam?"

"Not really…"

"Just… call her up and tell her about what's going on! It'll help!
Molly said that Serena's number was right by the phone."

"Al, I'm not going to call up some—"

"Just do it, Sam," Al said, then smiled. "Trust me!"

"It's eleven o'clock at night!"

Al tapped a couple of keys on his link. "Okay, Sam, but unless we
figure out what to do pretty dang quickly, there's… oh boy… a one
hundred percent chance that Maxfield Stanton will die in just about
twenty minutes." He looked at the time traveler. "So, unless
you've got a better idea, I think you should call up Serena."

Sam thought about it. Al did have a point there…

The ArbyFish dangled upside down from a rope, hung over a cauldron of
boiling, seething acid. The rope was slowly being eaten away by
the flame of a single candle, and had almost burned through.

"Oh, goodie!" Arby exclaimed in delight, looking up at the
rope.

Yawning, a cat walked into the kitchen. She stopped and gasped, horrified
at what she saw. "Arby! What are you doing?! Get down from there!"

"Not 'till you let me make billions of transfo'mation wands
to raise an eternal army a' the doomed ta take ova' the world! Me mushrooms
MUST be avenged!"

"Arby… you know you're not supposed to do that! Sailor Pluto herself
has told you not to make any more! You used to be her advisor. You should
know that you're not supposed to disobey someone like her when you're
given a direct command like that!"

The small, green seal dangled proudly. "Well, I'm revolting!"

"I knew that," Luna deadpanned.

Another fiber of the rope burned through.

Arby looked down at his teacher. "Ya gots thir'y seconds ta comply
with me demands!" He looked at the acid below him. "That's made
from Charmin Fabric Softena'! Ya know what 'appens ta me when they use
fabric softener?"

"Er… what?!"

"I DIE!" the small seal said with great emphasis, lightning
momentarily flashing behind him.

The next fiber of the rope burned through.

"Arby," Luna said urgently, inching closer, "we can talk
about this. Just get down!"

"Nope," Arby said, turning his head, spiraling around on the
nearly-destroyed rope, "not gonna do it. Not 'till—"

The final thread of the rope snapped, and the phone began to ring.

*Ring*

"Arby!" Luna shouted, reacting quickly, leaping at the ArbyFish.
She caught him halfway down, followed through with the jump, and pinned
him to the floor.

Luna pinned down Arby's fins, making him look rather like a pounced-upon
bird. "Arby, STOP."

*Ring*

"Whoa, what's going on down here?" a young, brownish-blonde-haired
boy wearing pajamas, whom we shall call 'Sammy', asked groggily, walking
into the room. He looked down at the cat. "What'cha got there, Luna?
Some weird… bir… d…" He trailed off as he took notice of the
boiling cauldron of acid, the rope, the burning candle, and the intricate,
glowing arcane symbols scrawled in red crayon all over the kitchen. "What
the…?"

Arby pulled free of Luna's grasp, fluttered up in front of Sammy's face,
and stared at him intently. "You saw nothing."

Sammy snapped to attention, his eyes dilating. "Yes, master."
He walked back upstairs. Luna's jaw dropped for a moment as she noticed
this, and then she intensified her hunt for Arby.

*Ring*

Not noticing her brother, Serena trudged down the steps. "Unnh…
Who would be calling at this hour?" She picked up the phone.
"Hello?"

She raised a tired eyebrow as she listened to the caller. "No, I
DON'T want to pay five percent less on my credit cards! …What?! Well,
same to you, buddy!" She slammed down the phone. "Ooooh, I hate
those stupid late-night telemarketing calls!"

Serena started to walk back up the stairs, and then the phone rang again.
The blonde girl sighed, walked back down, and picked up the receiver.
"WHAT IS IT?!?!! …Oh, eh, heh. Hi, Mol. Sorry about that…"
She paused. "Why are you calling so late? Is something…" She
gasped. "Maxfield Stanton?! Oh, he's a VERY terrible man. I'll be
right over!"

Serena hung up the phone and rushed upstairs. She soon rushed back down,
fully dressed, and bolted out the door.

Arby continued to flutter just out of Luna's reach. He hovered in the
air for a second, gazing after Serena. "Wonda' wot she's doin'…"
He fluttered after her.

Luna quickly followed. "Serena, where are you going? …Arby, wait!
Someone has to keep an eye on you!"

"In-dubidibly!" Arby called back jovially.

Editor's Warning:

The following scene was not appropriate for most of our readers…
It contained violence and gratuitous gross death.
As a matter of fact, it was completely filled with…

<Pause>

What?

<Whispers>

Oh. Oh my…

It has therefore been edited to meet the DIC dub standards.

Sailor V was locked in a ______ struggle. She breathed ______ as she
struggled to maintain her footing amidst the loose gravel. She tried
to stay focused and keep from losing whatever waning grips on her consciousness
she had.

Her foe was something out of a ______. It was tall; very tall: nearly
ten feet in height, but its size wasn't what made it ______. Its four,
thin, ______ arms extending out of its ______ robe, holding a long,
______ scythe helped, as did the ______ and ______, dark-grey wings.
However, its most dominant feature had to be the face: ______ ______
______ the ______ of the hood of its cloak, its eyes glowed ______,
seeming to ______ ______ ______ opponent's ______.

The ______ ______ a low, almost ______ ______ as it advanced toward
Sailor V. It ______ ______ ______ scythe, which ______, ______ in the
Sailor's ______ that had been ______ from an earlier clash.

The masked Senshi stood firm, making her expression as brave as she
could given the circumstances… which wasn't much at the moment. Her
______ breathing betrayed one fact: she was ______; not just ______,
she was ______. She was probably closer to ______ than she had ever
been in her life.

All of her attempts to fight back had proven completely and totally
futile. She ______ as she held the ______ on the ______ ______ of her
______; a ______ reminder of the ______ - ______ that the scythe could
cause: something much more than the somewhat less than the simple ______
could cause alone.

The ______ let out a ______ ______ as it dove toward her, almost too
fast for her to see.

Sailor V took a step back, swinging with her hands in a vain attempt
to call upon her Crescent Beam attack.

The ______ ______ stopped right in front of her and pulled back its
hood, revealing a ______ of ______ ______ and ______ ______. It almost
seemed to ______ at her as beams shot out of its ______ ______ sockets,
______ through her ______.

The sailor-suited warrior ______ from the ______ as the fire began
to ______ her ______.

And, suddenly, mercifully, it stopped.

Sailor V breathed ______, her vision coming back into focus, albeit
with a more ______ hue than normal. Her enemy was just standing there,
grinning.

Off to the side, she noticed the appearance of another ______ robed
figure. "Finish her…" it commanded.

Sailor V ______ as the ______ threw aside its ______, advancing toward
her with ______ ______.

Sailor V looked on in ______ ______ as the ______ ______ ______ ______
to the ground and ______ it ______. "______."

The ______, with another of its ______ hands, ______ her by ______
______, and ______ upwards, ______ ______ her ______, along with ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______.

Sailor V's ______ ______ in ______ ______, somehow still conscious
even after all this.

The ______ brought ______ ______ ______ ______ and ______ the ______
it was ______, and began to ______.

Sailor V's ______ was ______ to ______ the ______, and ______ in a
______ of ______ and ______, the ______ ______ and ______ of ______
______ moving into a ______ before they fell to the ground.

The ______ ______ the ______ of ______ and ______ to the ______, and
______ one foot ______ the ______ ______, ______ it in a ______ of ______.

In the background, the cloaked ______ nodded, looking down at the ______
______ Sailor.

"Flawless Victory. You Lose."

"Aw, man," Paracite grumbled as he turned away from the game,
stuffing his hands into his pockets, "and that was my last quarter!"

"That is soooo unrealistic," Jadeite-chan muttered in pitying
disgust, shaking her head as the scenario's added viscera played out on
the screen in an indescribably gory finishing scene, as if what had already
happened wasn't enough. "But still, these games humans create seem
awfully violent for their relatively puritanical culture. Wouldn't you
agree?"

The young, brown-haired youma gazed longingly at the screen, which relentlessly
flashed its demands for another coin. "But… I like them. Nobody
has to really get hurt."

Jadeite-chan laughed, shaking her head. "Paracite, where, may I
ask, is the point in that?" She sighed. "But you're young yet,
and have so much to learn…"

A blonde, twenty-ish young man wearing a multi-pocketed apron walked
by them. "Ah, excuse me, we're closing soon, and it's late."
He smiled as the two looked up at him. "Hey, isn't this a school
night for you?"

Jadeite-chan looked at him. "Wait… I know you… You're—"

"—Andrew," he completed. "Nice to meet you. Say…
are you Jade and Perry, the new students over at the Junior High so many
have been talking about?"

"Umm-hmm," the short blonde girl replied with a bright-eyed
nod.

"Did you really blow up half the school?"

"Nah," Paracite said, "she only blew a huge, gaping
hole through the roof."

"—And blew a marauder into the next millennium," Jadeite-chan
added. She thought for a second. "Then afterwards I had thought about
amassing a strike force to reclaim my rightful position as active general
in the armies of the Negaforce!"

Andrew chuckled in a friendly fashion. "Quite an imagination you've
got there… Shouldn't you be getting to bed soon?"

Paracite perked up. "We don't really need sleep, only energy."

Andrew blinked. "What?"

"Perry," Jadeite-chan said, giving her cousin a warning look.
She feigned a yawn and nodded at Andrew, now actually making a conscious
effort to look cute and play the part she was apparently going to be known
as for a while. "I think you're right, though. We really should be
getting to bed. It's very late. Come on, Perry."

"But—" Paracite said, pointing at the arcade games.

Jadeite-chan smiled and giggled, pulling him out the door by his arm.
"Come on, silly."

Andrew waved goodbye. "They sure are out late," he said to
himself. "I hope they won't have any trouble getting home…"
He remembered something and grimaced. "And come to think of it, I
need to be getting home soon, too. I have a poetry exam in Professor
Kuno's class tomorrow…"

Once outside, Jadeite-chan coughed and gagged, grimacing as she and her
cousin began their short walk toward the restaurant that was the doorway
to their newly-acquired home.

"What's wrong?" Paracite asked, noting his cousin's discomfort.

"Paracite," the short, cute blonde began, "do you have
any concept of how difficult it is to act like that without losing
control?"

Paracite blinked. "Control?"

"My… personality seems to be… under assault." Her tone
became almost desperate. "It feels as if… I'm in the danger of
losing myself."

"Well, it's just like acting like someone else in a energy draining
plan, right? I mean, when acting like somebody else, you can get wrapped
up in the part and—"

"I know that… And do you seriously think that I would be that
worried about it if it were something simple?" The cursed
Negaverse general shook her head. "No. It is something far
more serious than that. I don't know what, but it's keeping me from acting
rationally. Do you recall my… outbursts at the school earlier?"

Paracite shrugged. "I thought you were just stressed. You know,
with the curse— being a cute girl and stuff."

"Normally, I would never blow my cover like that unless I
had been discovered through other methods first. No one had any reason
to doubt our story… yet for some reason I couldn't keep myself from
lashing out."

"Well, it kept those boys from bugging you for the rest of the day…"

"Hmm… Yes, it did…"

"And most everyone else kept their distance, too."

"True…"

"Except for that guy with the glasses. What did he say his name
was?"

"Melvin."

"Yeah! Melvin. That's a cool guy… I really think he likes
you. Going to go out with him anytime soon?"

"Paracite, if you don't shut up right now, I will be forced to ______
you and nail your ______ to the wall."

The blue-school-uniformed, brown-haired youma smiled. "Naaah, you
wouldn't do that. Besides, I'd turn to dust waaay before you got that
far."

"I could keep you alive— pump in enough energy to sustain your
meager existence while I slowly ______ ______ ______ in an exquisitely
painful manner."

Paracite smiled, almost laughing. Right now, Jadeite's voice and appearance
was a little too cute for him to take these threats seriously.
"Arent'cha acting kinda… violently, Jadeite?"

"Humph. Yes, indeed it is… and I expect the young heroine whose
image has been used in such an… unwholesome form of entertainment will
be wanting to break a few heads herself when she hears about this
particular one… They've certainly deviated a long way from that earlier
game… what did they call it?"

"Um… I think you're trying to talk about the side-shooter they
had a while back? Super-deformed characters, jerky controls, innocent,
shoot-em-up action—"

"Whatever," Jadeite-chan cut in. "The point is…"
She trailed off as she gazed in wide-eyed shock at the battered restaurant
in front of her. "E… gads… It looks as if the little sailor-brats
got wind of this place and decided to move in and destroy it…"

The place was a mess. First of all, the windows were shattered and glass
was all over the place. Second, all of the furniture was broken in one
manner or another. Third, scorch marks marred all of the walls. Fourth,
there was an assortment of axes, hatchets, arrows, swords, knives, and
unexploded ordinance imbedded in the walls, floor, and roof. Fifth…
broken and shattered combat machines of the design Jadeite-chan recognized
as belonging to the instillation below were strewn haphazardly across
the floor. And finally, a few small pools of blood adorned the badly dented
landscape.

"Or maybe Beryl found out about it and sent someone in to get us,"
Paracite suggested. "This doesn't look like how the Scouts work.
Tuxedo Mask, either. The Starlight Knight, maybe… but it usually isn't
like this… Unless he was in a blind, killing rage… but that hasn't
happened since those robotic pandas at—"

"In any case," Jadeite-chan said, glancing around frantically,
"our temporary home is now defunct. The defenses seem to have been
overcome, and that… ‘Tim is probably dead, judging from the amount of
blood splattered around. Paracite, remind me to thank you for dragging
me to the arcade and playing all night. You may have saved both our lives."
She took her cousin by the arm. "Let's get out of here. Quickly,
now." She concentrated, attempting to gather enough focus for her
and Paracite to teleport away… it didn't matter where, so long as it
was far from here.

"Perry…? Jade? Is that you?" a woman's voice asked quickly,
in such a way that it disrupted Jadeite-chan's concentration.

Jadeite-chan whipped around, attempting to regain her composure sufficiently
to get back into her 'cute little girl' act, or more specifically: to
get ready for whatever mental repercussions such an act may cause. "Er…
Hello," she said cutely, smiling slightly. "I'm Jade."
She fought hard to repress a giggle that threatened to arise— it
really didn't fit in the conversation right now.

"That's us," Paracite confirmed without batting an eyelash.

"Good," the brown-haired, youngish woman with a white bow in
her hair and a giant spatula on her back said in relief. "My boss
was wondering about you two."

"Your boss…?" Jadeite-chan asked in a guarded manner, looking
very adorable as she maintained a close arm lock with her much taller
cousin just in case things suddenly turned ugly for some reason and she
still needed to teleport them both out.

"'Tim, the restaurant owner," the woman replied in a reassuring
tone, attempting to alleviate any fears the small blonde girl appeared
to be having. "He's been badly injured in… In a battle, actually,
and couldn't check, so he asked me to—"

"What sort of battle? Who attacked?" Jadeite-chan asked, narrowing
her eyes. She glanced at the destruction inside the restaurant. "Was
it… the Negaverse?"

The spatula-carrying woman shook her head, then paused, wondering how
they knew about the Negaverse. She finally shrugged, guessing that since
'Tim— The Starlight Knight knew about it, it only stood to reason
that these two that lived with him would, too. "No. As far as I know,
Queen Beryl and her generals had nothing to do with it. The computer went
nuts."

"Oh," the small blonde replied, now clinging protectively to
Paracite for real this time. The computer. After the experience she had
this morning, she had no difficulties understanding how THAT could
be a problem. "Did he really manage to fix it this time?"

"I don't know, but I sure hope so, sugar. It was a heck of a fight
trying to get it reset." She looked down. "I'd hate to have
to go through that again." She shuddered for a moment.

"He's okay, though, right?" Paracite asked. "Tim, I mean."

The woman grimaced. "Define 'okay'."

Jadeite-chan frowned, then looked up at Paracite, sorrowful tears in
her eyes and shaking. She rested her head against her cousin's chest,
sobbing. "Tim…" she said sadly.

The cute blonde girl stopped and realized how she was acting. "Aah!"
She let go of the boy she was clinging to and shoved him away. She quickly
regained her composure and looked back at the apparent combat-chef. "It
got him, didn't it?"

The chef nodded, looking a bit perplexed by the girl's behavior. "Yes…
a number of times, actually. Slashing, biting, digging, shooting, hacking.
The things it kept sending at us showed no mercy. It was a miracle we
even got the job done. He was lying there, slashed, battered, broken—"

Jadeite-chan was unable to keep lower lip from trembling. "Stop
it!" she shouted, then drew back slightly, looking somewhat surprised
at her involuntary outburst, and the tone it was in.

The brown-haired woman sighed. "Sorry to be so blunt, sugar… but
he's a real mess right now."

"So… he's dead?" Paracite asked, scratching his head.

The spatula-carrying chef blinked. "What? Noooo… He's alive. Barely,
but alive… The doctor said that…" She paused, trying to remember
the exact phrasing. "'Don't worry. His thick skull has protected
him once again'. So, I guess he goes through this sort of thing a lot.
I don't know how he'd do it, but…" She trailed off as a few small
robots came out of hiding in the restaurant and started to clean it up:
sweeping up the glass, mopping the floors, redoing the tilework, etcetera.